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WEST POINT — At West Point’s City Council work session on Tuesday, citizen Barbara Hale told the city council that the Glovis project on Webb Bartley Road was disturbing the peace at her residence across the street.

“I just wish you all would come out and visit me out there and see exactly what’s going on,” she said. “At 2 a.m. this morning, I was awakened with all the noise that’s going on with the trucks backing up and all the lights and so forth. So, I lost sleep last night, and then, today at lunch, I’m sitting in my house. My pastor and his wife’s there to visit with me, and the house starts shaking. And it was beyond their belief.”

Hale said that after they left, she tried taking a nap to catch up on her sleep, and her house shook again. She argued that such a disruption of peace shouldn’t be allowed in a residential area.

“I’ve always kept my place nice and neat, and it’s like you’re in a trash dump,” she said. “The bottles, the papers, and they’re blowing up into the yard. Plus the dust on my front porch.”

Hale asked the council if they would want something like the Glovis project directly across the street from their homes. She answered for them that they’d be fighting against such a project.

“So, it’s hard for me to know why you approved it for a residential area,” she said. “But I do realize it’s all about the money and with disregard to the people.”

She quoted Galatians 6:7 from the Bible.

“Be not deceived,” she said. “God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, he shall also reap.”

She said she’s seen things the Bible says come true in her life and those of others.

“I won’t be here to see this, but when you disregard people, and you know there’s a price to pay,” she said. “… many of you will be here to see it. So, I just leave you with that thought, and thank you for letting me express my opinion.”

City Manager Ed Moon confirmed that the construction crew at the Glovis project had night pours the previous night and that they had scheduled pours for Tuesday night. He said they had also scheduled work for Thursday and Friday night. Should weather disrupt the process, Moon said they’d just do it at another date.

Councilwoman Deedee Williams asked if there was a way the city could communicate with residents in Hale’s neighborhood what the Glovis contractor’s schedule would be.

“I’m sure we can work into seeing how we can get them the information,” Moon responded.

Councilman the Rev. Gerald Ledbetter said he agreed with Williams that it would be good to communicate the construction crew’s plans with the people on Webb Bartley Road.

“I’ve actually been out there,” he said.  “

When Ms. Hale said that her house shakes, her house shakes. To say that it’s a mild tremor is an understatement. The earth moves when you’re out there.”

Ledbetter said he was aware that Hale’s concerns were being addressed. He said the conflicts of interest between nearby residents and the Glovis project made for a tough situation.

“And we worked out, you know, shutting things down at 6 p.m. every night,” he said. 

“And then turned around, and they told us they had to work nights. And that was kind of a gut blow to several… You want to celebrate growth. You want to be able to truly get behind development. And then, sometimes a developer makes it hard. I think that’s what’s happened here.”

Williams said that on the one hand, the city doesn’t want to appear unfriendly to businesses. On the other hand, she said it doesn’t want to appear unfriendly to potential residents.

“We just pray at the end that it will all be worth it and that at the end of the day, the project will be greatly beneficial to us all,” Ledbetter said.